"The game that started it all."

Back this year in the spring when Nintendo released their first round of Classic NES series for the Gameboy Advance, I will say that I was disappointed. The games that they chose to release were all on Animal Crossing. However with this round of games that are being released, I am thrilled to say that Castlevania is among them.

The gameplay for the original Castlevania is pretty darn simple. Your character is armed with a whip and other sub-weapons. Your goal is to make your way threw six stages and defeat Count Dracula. I will say that your character does have stiff controls and is tough to control sometimes. Of course all games made in 1987 were like this.

The story is pretty basic. You are Simon Belmont, and you goal is to whip your way threw six stages to defeat Count Dracula. That's basically it.

The graphics are simple and basic. Even though this game was made in 1987, the graphics surprisingly hold up well today. How about the sound? Well this is where the game truly shines. Each stage has very memorable tunes, but it doesn't end there. The opening stage theme is called Vampire Killer. Anyone who knows Castlevania knows this song. With that said, the rest of the tunes in the game have been also seen in other Castlevania games.

Replay value? Sadly there isn't much. There are only six stages in the game, and since the first three stages are very easy, the game will only take about 30 minutes to complete. However, be warned. While the first three stages are indeed a cakewalk, the last three are brutal. Also the last two bosses, the Grim Reaper and the Count himself could be the toughest two bosses in all of Castlevania history.

In conclusion, I highly advise anyone who enjoys Castlevania games to pick this up. Sure the graphics aren't state of the art anymore, but it doesn't matter. The original Castlevania has been remade several times for many different systems, so that basically tells just how popular this game is. This game is a classic, a classic that truly started the Castlevania series.